Hamas Death Toll Falls Far Short of Israel’s Goals
When you take the field against your enemies, and see horses and chariots—forces larger than yours—have no fear of them, for Hashem your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, is with you.
DEUTERONOMY
20:1
(THE ISRAEL BIBLE)
Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz
JANUARY 22, 2024
GAZA HAMAS IDF - ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCE ISRAEL PALESTINIANS TERRORISM UNITED STATES (AMERICA)
When you take the field against your enemies, and see horses and chariots—forces larger than yours—have no fear of them, for Hashem your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, is with you. Deuteronomy 20:1
A report in the Wall Street Journal cited U.S. intelligence agencies as claiming that the IDF war in Gaza had eliminated 20% to 30% of Hamas terrorists. The sources claimed that this falls far short of Israel’s stated goal of eliminating the existential threat from its southern border.
“The U.S. estimate of the group’s casualties also found that Hamas still has enough munitions to continue striking Israel and Israeli forces in Gaza for months, and that the group is attempting to reconstitute its police force in parts of Gaza City, according to U.S. officials who confirmed a classified report” the WSJ report wrote.
“The group’s fighters have adjusted their tactics, operating in smaller groups and hiding between ambushes on Israeli troops, while individual fighters are likely taking on more tasks to pick up the slack from their dead comrades, military analysts said.”
The report noted that Israel had adjusted its offensive due to pressure from the Biden administration, scaling back its offensive to a “surgical phase”. These new tactics have resulted in increased IDF casualties.
The WSJ report claimed that the Biden administration no longer supports an Israeli effort to entirely eliminate the Hamas terrorist organization.
“Biden administration officials have begun to scale down their expectations for the war, to Hamas’s degradation as a security threat from its utter destruction,” WSJ wrote. “And the U.S. has urged Israel to shift the war toward more targeted operations aimed at Hamas’s leadership.”
The report cited Hamas health officials as claiming that 24,000 Gazans have died in the war, with about one third being “men”. The Hamas figures don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians and do not differentiate between children and young men under the age of 18 killed while attacking IDF troops.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths as it positions fighters, tunnels and other terrorist infrastructure in or even under civilian structures, including schools, hospitals, and mosques.
Hamas is believed to be using Israeli hostages as shields for its top leaders.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tours the largest-ever Hamas attack tunnel uncovered by the IDF, December 2023. Photo by Ariel Hermoni/Israeli Defense Ministry. (source: JNS)
U.S. intelligence estimates put the number of Hamas terrorists at 25-30,000, with thousands more enlisted police and security forces.
The Israeli military estimates that it has eliminated at least 9,000 Hamas terrorists. An additional 1,000 Hamas terrorists were killed inside Israel on October 7. An additional 16,000 Hamas terrorists have been injured, according to Israeli estimates, with about half of those not expected to return to the battlefield.
About 190 Israeli soldiers have died in Gaza since the start of Israel’s ground campaign, with around 1,200 wounded, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The report cited U.S. military doctrine as dictating that “a conventional force that loses 25%-30% of its fighters would be considered combat-ineffective”. This doctrine would classify Hamas as being ineffective as a fighting force.
“But Hamas is an irregular force fighting a defensive war in a dense urban environment and has access to hundreds of miles of tunnels under Gaza. It has shown that it can still fight, but the losses ‘continue to put more pressure on Hamas’s network,’ said retired Army Gen. Joseph Votel, who commanded U.S. military operations in the Middle East.”
Israel has considered flooding the tunnels with seawater, as Egypt did in 2015, but international pressure prevented Israel from carrying out this tactic.
Hamas is still firing rockets into Israeli cities.
Hamas causes buildings to collapse - 21 IDF soldiers dead, several wounded
Hamas forces fired a rocket-propelled grenade on multiple adjacent structures.
By YONAH JEREMY BOB, GADI ZAIG
JANUARY 23, 2024 07:37
Updated: JANUARY 24, 2024 00:29
IDF announces the names of 21 soldiers killed in combat, January 23, 2024.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)
Hamas forces fired a rocket-propelled grenade on multiple adjacent structures, which along with landmines that the IDF forces had collected and brought into the buildings, caused a total collapse that killed 19 soldiers and injured several others on Monday.
The incident occurred around 4:00 p.m. in Maghazi in central Gaza, only 600 meters from the border fence close to Kissufim.
In addition, right after Hamas’s attackers had attacked the soldiers in the buildings, an IDF tank noticed the attackers, and started to maneuver its turret toward them.
However, before it could fire, Hamas fired a separate rocket-propelled grenade at the tank, which killed two IDF soldiers and injured two others.
Details of the massive explosion are being investigated
It was unclear if the soldiers had violated procedures by bringing the landmines into the structures with them and also unclear how much the collapse of the building was caused by the RPG versus the secondary landmines explosions.
Moreover, it was unclear if the large volume of soldiers in the building at the time should have been there, or if the forces should have been more spread out to avoid the possibility of one large ambush.
Further, it was unclear whether the landmines were brought into the structures fully shielded and covered or with more unprotected explosive substances.
However, in a third update later Tuesday, IDF sources said that there was some evidence that the collapse was not caused by the landmines.
There were other adjacent structures also with soldiers and landmines which did not collapse.
The IDF forces who were harmed were mostly reservists from Unit 8208 assigned to clear certain areas of dangerous items, such as mines, or in this case, to use the mines to destroy certain structures which were viewed as presenting a threat to future Israeli southern residents' security.
Rescue activities went on for hours with the brigade commander having been on site from the start of the incident and the brigadier general in charge of the entire Gaza defense division, arriving shortly after.
Late Tuesday, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi flew down to the site from the northern border, cancelling his original schedule to view the situation firsthand.
Halevi said, “The State of Israel woke up this morning to a painful and difficult update: 21 dead, among the best of our country who volunteered to defend their homeland.”
He emphasized the need to continue the war going forward to return security to Israel’s southern residents.
It was unclear what happened to the Hamas attackers, but IDF sources suggested they probably escaped.
The IDF is expected to probe how to avoid having such a large volume of soldiers in one spot to avoid future large losses all at once.
At the same time, IDF sources said that it was technically safer for the soldiers to have been in the buildings than if they were waiting outside in the open and completely exposed area.
It was unclear if there would be enough armored personnel carriers for the forces given that they were in an area which was considered operationally secure, and the IDF has shifted many of its resources to southern Gaza or other fronts.
There were no signs that this single incident would change that shift given the domestic pressure to release reservists and the global pressure to reduce Israel’s military footprint in Gaza.
There was also criticism that the IDF could have used the air force to destroy the building to avoid dangers to soldiers.
However, IDF sources brushed off these objections, saying that the air force cannot be everywhere and it is prioritized to attacking active Hamas units, not for just blowing up structures in areas where most of Hamas’s forces have already been beaten (even if smaller guerilla warfare cells remain.)
The IDF released the names of the soldiers killed:
From the 8208 Battalion, 261st Brigade:
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Hadar Kapeluk, 23, from Moshav Mevo Beitar, a Class Commander.
Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Sergey Gontmaher, 37, from Ramat Gan.
Sgt.-1st Class (res.) Elkana Yehuda Sfez, 25, from Kiryat Arba.
Master Sgt. (res.) Yoav Levi, 29, from the city of Yehud-Monoson in central Israel.
Sgt 1st Class (res.) Nicholas Berger, 22, from Jerusalem.
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Cydrick Garin, 23, from Tel Aviv-Yafo.
Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Ahmad Abu Latif, 26, from Rahat.
Captain Nir Binyamin, 29, from Givatayim.
St.-Sgt.-Maj. Elkana Vizel, 35, from Bnei Dekalim near the West Bank.
Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Israel Socol, 24, from the Israeli settlement Karnei Shomron in the West Bank.
Sgt.-Maj. Sagi Idan, 24, from Rosh Haayin.
Warrant Officer Mark Kononovich, 35, from Herzliya.
Warrant Officer Shay Biton Hayun, 40, from Zichron Yaakov.
Warrant Officer Daniel Kasau Zegeye, 38, from Yokneam.
From the 6261 Battalion, 261st Brigade:
Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Matan Lazar, 32, from Haifa.
Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Rafael Elias Mosheyoff, 33, from the town of Pardes Hanna-Karkur near Haifa.
St.-Sgt. (res.) Barak Haim Ben Valid, 33, from Rishon Lezion, a Class Commander.
Warrant Officer Itamar Tal, 32, from Kibbutz Mesilot in northern Israel.
Warrant Officer Adam Bismut, 35, the Israeli settlement Karnei Shomron in the West Bank.
From the 9206 Battalion, 205th Brigade:
Sgt. 1st Class (res.) Yoval Lopez, 27, from the settlement of Alon Shvut in the West Bank.
Captain (res.) Ariel Mordechay Wollfstal, 28, from the Israeli settlement Elazar in the West Bank.
Israeli officials' comments
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Yesterday, we experienced one of the most difficult days since the outbreak of the war. The IDF has launched an investigation into the disaster. We must learn the necessary lessons and do everything to preserve the lives of our soldiers. In the name of our heroes, for the sake of our lives, we will not stop fighting until absolute victory."
President Isaac Herzog wrote that "behind every name whose world has fallen apart - a family that we take to our hearts with sorrow and pain, and at the same time with pride - for the heroism of the generation."
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated, "On this difficult and painful morning, the most tragic news reached many homes in Israel; our hearts are with the dear families in their most difficult time. This is a war that will determine the future of Israel for decades to come - the fall of the fighters is a requirement to achieve the goals of the war.
"I send my condolences from the bottom of my heart to the families of the victims of the campaign and best wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded."
Yesh Atid Leader Yair Lapid said that he "sends a hug to the families of the soldiers. The entire nation of Israel is with you in your difficult time. May their memory be a blessing."
National Unity Party Leader Benny Gantz said, "On this difficult morning, we must be united, remember the heavy price we are forced to pay for such a just war and the goal for which our heroes fell - to secure our future, to return our daughters and sons, and to take care of Israel forever. Especially today, we are sending strength to all IDF soldiers and their commanders. We are all behind you."
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the incident as "heartbreaking news. Condolences from the bottom of my heart to the families of the heroes, the entire nation of Israel embraces you with a broken and aching heart. Our commitment is to ensure that the fall of our soldiers will not be in vain."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said "Precisely now it is clearer than ever - the war must not be stopped, the fighting must not be reduced. We must continue to subdue, crush and mow down the Nazi enemy in Gaza with all our might. "
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said, "It's a difficult morning for the people of Israel to wake up to this heartbreaking news. On behalf of the Knesset, I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the families of the fallen. Each of them is a world full of families, hopes, and dreams that were cut short prematurely. We all wish and pray for a speedy recovery of the wounded."
Agriculture Minister and security cabinet member Avi Dichter said, "Most of the soldiers were reservists, who left entire families without a father and an entire country shocked and in pain."
Far-left Hadash MK Ofer Cassif gives his "condolences to the families affected and best wishes for a speedy and full recovery to the injured.
"Their blood is on the hands of this atrocious government that sacrifices masses just for its own survival. They led us into the abyss, and they have no one to blame but themselves! They, in a messianic nightmare, ask for houses on the beach to be built on the corpses of soldiers, hostages, and thousands of Palestinians.
"There must be an uncompromising and fearless alternative in front of them that will stop the rivers of blood! A Jewish-Arab alternative of justice, equality, and peace. These criminals must leave already! Elections now!"
Hamas is collapsing in its own Gaza tunnels, Gallant tells IDF soldiers
"In the last day and a half, over 100 terrorists have come up, some of them underground, in the Khan Yunis area, and in other places - because they understand that they can't fight against the IDF."
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
JANUARY 25, 2024 19:52
Updated: JANUARY 26, 2024 02:46
"Hamas is collapsing within its own tunnels," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said to soldiers of the Yahalom unit of the Combat Engineering Corps in a visit to the unit training base on Thursday, according to the Defense Ministry Spokesperson's Unit.
The defense minister debriefed with Chief Engineering Officer Lt. Col. Yoav Turkansky and the commander of the unit, Lt. Col. A., on the unit's activities in the war to locate and destroy terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
After the debriefing, Gallant expressed his appreciation to the soldiers in active duty and reserve units for their efforts in the ongoing war.
"There is no place I go in Gaza - the central camps, Khan Yunis, wherever I go, I meet the fighters - and they don't talk to me about Yahalom," he told the soldiers.
Gallant says price of the war is heavy, but results speak for themselves
"Unfortunately, this operation has costs, and the unit paid a heavy price," he continued. "On the other hand, the results are clearly seen - Hamas dug tunnels to use them against us with all kinds of methods - but in reality, Hamas is collapsing into its own tunnels that it dug with great effort. Every place they thought would be a trap for IDF soldiers became an area where we defeated them in various ways."
He then addressed the IDF's success in eliminating droves of terrorists in Khan Yunis over the past day.
"Hamas has suffered hundreds of casualties underground as a result of your and your friends' operations. And besides, we've only been in the last day and a half, yet we have over 100 terrorists who have come up, some of them underground, in the Khan Yunis area, and in other places - because they understand that they can't fight against the IDF. It's thanks to you and your friends."
"This is an expression of the need for our systematic and strategic operations," he stated, lamenting October 7 and reaffirming the IDF's mission. "We have not forgotten what happened on the seventh of October; whoever killed our children, raped our women, and kidnapped our elders, we will take their heads."
"We will not be able to strike everyone in Hamas, but we will reach a point where we dismantle this organization; it will not control Gaza, and it will not have military force," he assured them.
"Persevere, do your work, and we will bring the result. There is a lot of appreciation for what you are doing throughout the State of Israel, in the public, and certainly in the security establishment and the IDF. Thank you very much, friends; I wish you all much success," he concluded his statement.
Gallant: IDF troops have killed or wounded half of Hamas’s terror forces
JANUARY 30, 2024
The Israel Defense Forces have so far killed or wounded at least half of Hamas’s estimated 30,000 terror operatives in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated during a visit to the southern border on Monday.
“We have already killed a quarter of the Hamas terrorists, at least, and the same number are wounded,” he told IDF Artillery Corps reservists serving near Gaza. “Terrorists remain, and we are fighting against pockets of resistance … it will take months, not one day.”
However, the remaining half of Hamas’s terror army has limited supplies, ammunition and reinforcements, he claimed, noting that it is becoming harder and harder “for them to take care of themselves” and “their wounded.”
Gallant continued, specifying that “we have three goals for this war: to eliminate Hamas, to return our hostages and to preserve the unity of the Israeli people. We’re in a long war, but in the end, we will break Hamas.”
The defense minister vowed to keep fighting until Hamas is eliminated “as a governing system and as a military organization capable of launching attacks against the State of Israel.”
The language used by Gallant on Monday differed somewhat from the wording used in previous statements, including by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which consistently defined the third goal as ensuring that the Gaza Strip in its entirety will never pose a threat to Israel again.
‘We are hitting them above and below ground’
Since Jan. 21, the army has been mounting a massive assault in Khan Yunis, killing scores of terrorist operatives, including company commanders. The battle force includes parts of the IDF’s Givati Infantry Brigade, 7th Armored Brigade, paratroopers and commandoes.
On Jan. 23, Israeli ground forces completed the encirclement of Khan Yunis, killing dozens of terrorists in the process.
Israel’s Ynet website on Monday cited a senior security official who said the IDF managed to destroy two of the four Hamas battalions operating in the Khan Yunis area. Troops have already killed approximately 3,000 out of 4,000 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists during battles above and below ground in Khan Yunis, the report added.“We are fighting in a simultaneous maneuver—combat above and below ground at the same time. Hamas terrorists are on the run, and we are hitting them and their above- and below-ground infrastructure,” said IDF 98th Division commander Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfuss.
The IDF is making “significant progress” in dismantling the vast tunnel network under Khan Yunis, according to the statement shared by the military on Monday evening. So far, hundreds of terrorists have been eliminated underground during close-quarter encounters with ground forces and in Israeli Air Force attacks.
Above ground, soldiers of the 98th Division raided hundreds of terrorist infrastructures, including battalion headquarters, training compounds, communication posts, a command center, a military intelligence building, a rocket manufacturing facility, as well as offices of senior terror officials, including Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
One of the masterminds of the Oct. 7 massacre, along with the leader of Hamas’s “military wing” Mohammed Deif, Sinwar is believed to be hiding in the Khan Yunis area, where he has reportedly surrounded themselves with a large number of living Israeli hostages. Khan Yunis is regarded as a personal stronghold of Sinwar, whose family lives there.
Air-raid sirens blared across Tel Aviv and its suburbs on Monday afternoon, warning of incoming rockets from the Gaza Strip for the first time since Jan. 1. Local reports said at least 10 terror rockets were fired towards central Israel, sending millions of civilians racing for shelter.
Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster subsequently reported that the barrage was launched by Hamas terrorists from the area of Khan Yunis.
Also on Monday, Netanyahu held a meeting on the issue of returning the residents of southern Israel to their homes, according to a statement from his office. According to Netanyahu, “significant progress” has been made, and “final adjustments are being made to advance the issue.”
A decision on the matter will soon be submitted to the government for discussion, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
Terrorists in northern Gaza on Sunday launched a volley of rockets towards the southern city of Ashkelon for the first time in nearly a month. According to estimates, about 2,000 Hamas terrorists remain in Gaza’s north, who are disconnected from the leadership in the south.
Netanyahu: Half of Hamas Killed or Wounded; 18 of 24 Battalions Destroyed
JOEL B. POLLAK 5 Feb 2024
JERUSALEM, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday during a visit to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops that half of Hamas’s terrorists had been killed or wounded, and that 18 of its 24 battalions had been destroyed thus far.
Netanyahu spoke at Latrun, a military site overlooking the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road where British-trained Jordanian troops had held out against Israel in the 1948 war. Israel captured it in 1967 after Jordan joined in that war by shelling western Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets a female IDF soldier at Latrun, Israel, February 5, 2024 (Haim Zach GPO)
In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu said (via Government Press Office translation):
Total victory is essential because it ensures the security of Israel. Total victory is the only way in which we can ensure additional historic peace agreements, which await. Total victory will strike a mortal blow against the axis of evil: Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis and – of course – Hamas.
Therefore, there is no substitute for total victory. One need only to think of what would happen without total victory: The displaced will not return, the next massacre will only be a matter of time and Iran, Hezbollah and others will simply celebrate here and destroy the Middle East; therefore, there is no substitute for total victory.
After having met you and your commanders in the field in the Gaza Strip several times, I would like to tell you – I am impressed by your heroism, intensity and determination, and by our ability to achieve this victory, which is coming. By our calculation, as of today we have already destroyed – meaning, we have either killed or wounded – over half of their force. We have destroyed 18 of their 24 battalions. We are engaged in active demilitarization by conducting raids against the remaining terrorists and we are destroying the underground networks. We are on the way to total victory and I want to tell you that we are committed to it and will not give up on it. We will not stop the war without achieving this goal of total victory, which will restore security to both the south and the north.
The prime minister’s insistence that the goal remained “total victory” was a statement made as much for an American audience as for the Israeli soldiers around him, as reported emerge that the U.S. wants Israel to accept a ceasefire without destroying Hamas.
As Caroline Glick of the Jewish News Syndicate has noted, CIA director William Burns is trying to negotiate a deal through Egypt and Qatar, for Hamas to release the remaining 130 or so Israeli hostages, in return for which Israel would release possibly thousands of Palestinian terrorists, and stop fighting in Gaza for one-to-two months — a pause the U.S. reportedly hopes will make it harder for Israel to resume fighting. The Biden administration also wants a Palestinian state to emerge from the war.
If the White House succeeds, Israel will fail to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities and to remove it as a governing presence in Gaza. The deal has been stalled by Hamas infighting, but U.S. pressure on Israel is growing.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has become increasingly hostile in his public remarks about Israel, is due to visit Israel this week, and will likely press Israel to pull back its military operations in Gaza, despite evidence that Hamas tries to reemerge where the IDF leaves.
On Friday, U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) told Fox News Sunday that Israel had “only” managed to “knock out about a third of Hamas fighters,” a figure apparently based on U.S. intelligence estimates, as published by the Wall Street Journal. If the Biden administration can claim that Israel is not making progress against Hamas, the thinking appears to be, it can assert its own vision for an end to the conflict.
But Israel’s leaders have other ideas.
Defense minister Yoav Gallant said “the terror group’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar was on the run, out of touch with his fighters, and forced to flee from one hideout to another with the IDF hot on his heels,” according to the Times of Israel. He reiterated — as he has said from the start — that the war will require a long effort.
Breitbart News asked Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy on Monday about a looming Israeli attack on Hamas positions in the southernmost Gaza city of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, which Israel likely must control to prevent Hamas from escaping.
Egypt has warned Israel not to mount an offensive in Rafah, fearing that an attack would cause a flood of Palestinian refugees into Gaza. The Biden administration does not appear to be using its leverage with the Egyptian regime to convince it to relent.
Levy said that “our forces will, of course, turn their attention towards the remainder, including the south of Gaza. We think it’s very important for the whole security architecture of the region that Hamas be totally destroyed inside the Gaza Strip, and that Gaza remain permanently demilitarized in order to prevent any resurgence of the terror threat, which would only undermine regional stability and security.”
He said the survival of Hamas was “not in the interest of any of our neighbors,” including Egypt.